Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a system configured to provide controlled depth of hemostasis. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system including a pair of electrodes, an electrosurgical generator and controller that enables a user to intuitively control depth of hemostasis.
Description of Related Art
Electrosurgical devices (e.g., surface tissue desiccation devices) are well known in the medical arts and typically include a handset with an on/off switch, a shaft and at least one electrode operatively coupled to a distal end of the shaft that is configured to perform an electrosurgical procedure, such as surface tissue desiccation. The electrosurgical devices utilize electrical energy to effect hemostasis by heating the tissue and blood vessels.
Electrosurgical devices that utilize this electrical energy for treating various maladies of different organs like the liver, kidney, and spleen that include such things such as tumors, injuries from trauma, and such may have several shortcomings. These shortcomings may affect efficacy, morbidity and mortality. For example, a typical issue is the inability to adequately control blood loss during a tissue transection.
In an attempt to help overcome this particular limitation, various mono-polar and bi-polar RF electrosurgical devices have been created that act as conduits to deliver energy from an RE generator. These devices include electrocautery pencils and probes of various types and configurations from a number of different manufactures. The algorithms currently used with these electrosurgical devices in surgical treatments typically provide a constant amount of delivered energy in which the power level and duration are directly controlled by the user.
There may be particular drawbacks associated with delivering a constant amount of energy to target tissue, e.g., an inability to automatically adjust to the correct level of energy delivery by properly responding to the condition of the tissue being transected. After the initial application of energy to the target tissue the properties of the tissue begin to change. With these changes the application of energy should also change in order to maintain an optimum energy application. Typical methods of delivering hemostatic energy to the target tissue are ill-suited because these methods tend to rely on the user to adjust the energy delivery with little or no information or guidance as to the changing state of the target tissue. As a result the ultimate amount or duration of delivered energy may be insufficient for creating proper hemostasis.
Further, the typical energy delivery systems rely on the user to set the initial level of energy delivery with little or no relevant information of the condition of the target tissue being treated. Therefore, when using typical energy delivery systems, the initial application of energy can be significantly lower or higher than what is needed. When an inadequate amount of energy is applied to the target tissue, a hemostatic tissue effect may not be achieved. Likewise, if the duration of the energy application is too short, proper hemostasis will not be achieved or the tissue may carbonize. Carbonization prevents the continued flow of delivered energy to the tissue; it also often creates an overly superficial depth of treated tissue resulting in poor hemostasis.